ST. JOSEPH -- Tyler Henry caught a pass on a slant route across the middle from Unity quarterback Dane Eisenmenger.
With a St. Joseph-Ogden defender nearby, Henry shook free.
While he and his Unity teammates held a 21-10 lead just a minute into the start of the second half, Henry didn't just want a straightforward reception on this third-and-10 play.
So the 5-foot-9, 160-pound senior made a play. In a big way.
He turned his first and only catch on Friday night at Dick Duval Field into a 70-yard touchdown, helping spark Unity to a convincing 40-10 win against the host Spartans in an Illini Prairie Conference showdown between two state-ranked teams.
"Back-breaker," SJ-O coach Shawn Skinner said. "It was a big-time play. He's one of their playmakers, and he should be because he's played a lot of football for them. He's a tremendous athlete. You can see it. He's a high football IQ guy, too. You put those together, it's a tough thing."
One other aspect stands out for No. 11 on the Unity roster. Henry rarely leaves the field. The Rockets, by and large, only start players on one side of the ball. But Henry, who also starts at safety, is too important for coach Tony Reetz's program.
"When you go back to the Monticello game two weeks ago, he had to come out in the third quarter because of cramping, and at that point, we realized that he was just about on every snap of offense, every snap of defense and every snap of special teams," Reetz said. "We started to back him off from the special teams and do some different things on offense and defense to alleviate it a bit. The bottom line is we want to make sure when he's in the game, he's fresh because he's electric."
Henry's run-and-catch score increased Unity's lead to 27-10 with 10 minutes, 52 seconds left in the third quarter. The Rockets' defense, with Henry contributing, shut out the Spartans in the second half and rolled to the rather lopsided win.
"I think we knew we were going to be a good defense, but it's all about if we can stay disciplined," Henry said. "Beating a really good team by 30 does boost our confidence a lot."
Both the Rockets (3-1, 3-1 Illini Prairie) and Spartans (3-1, 3-1) dealt with steady rain that was present for much of the first half, but Unity never trailed in ending a 14-game Illini Prairie win streak by SJ-O.
A balanced offense carried the Rockets, with Eisenmenger going 9 of 18 for 175 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 48 rushing yards on five carries. Senior wide receiver Tre Hoggard broke through with the game's first big play when he took a handoff from Eisenmenger and raced down the Rockets' sideline for a 77-yard touchdown run to stake Unity to a 14-3 lead on the final play of the first quarter.
"I saw green turf," Hoggard said. "Once I'm in open space, I fee like no one can catch me. I knew our big guys up front were going to give me a chance, and they did. They opened up a big hole, and I just accelerated through it."
Hoggard wound up with 79 receiving yards on three catches, scoring on a 38-yard touchdown reception with 1:07 left before halftime that extended Unity's lead to 21-10. He also finished with 80 rushing yards on four carries.
"When you put Henry and Tre on the field at the same time," Reetz said, "it's like pick your poison."
Add in a heavy dose of senior running back Crewe Eckstein, and the Rockets never let the Spartans' defense gain confidence. Eckstein rushed for 135 yards on 29 carries and two touchdowns.
"He grabs his lunch pail, he comes to work and he churns out hard yards," Reetz said. "The guys up front did a heck of a job blocking. He doesn't need much room because he'll make a hole for himself because he runs hard."
The win by Unity allowed the Rockets to avoid a two-game losing streak after a 34-27 home loss last Friday night against Bloomington Central Catholic at Hicks Field in Tolono.
Putting forth a complete game is what Eisenmenger expects every week. Doing so after a close home loss and prevailing against the Rockets' main rival added to the satisfaction of Friday night's win.
"Just glad that it showed on the scoreboard," Eisenmenger said. "That's our goal every road game. We love playing on the road and having that villain mentality."
SJ-O trimmed its deficit to 14-10 with 3:05 left before halftime when senior quarterback Kodey McKinney found his younger brother, sophomore wide receiver Lane McKinney, on a 3-yard touchdown pass. The elder McKinney finished 10 of 17 for 80 passing yards a week after he threw for 257 yards and completed all 21 of his passes in a road win against Chillicothe IVC last Friday night. He added 35 rushing yards on 16 carries, but Unity senior Desmond Winfrey and junior Keegan Germano each had second-half sacks as the Rockets slowed the Spartans down after halftime.
"I thought in the first half, they hit three really big plays, and we were never able to capitalize on anything," Skinner said. "A lot of it is what we call it popcorn. A good play here, a bad play there. There was never any consistency, and it's tough to beat anybody when you have a night like that, especially a good team."
An experienced team with plenty of depth, too. Add in a versatile playmaker like Henry, and the Rockets feel good heading into next Friday night's homecoming game against Pontiac.
"I think I'm handling playing both ways well," Henry said. "I've got to take care of my body. Lots of water and staying hydrated. It takes a toll, but in the end, it's fun. You only get four years in high school, so you want to make the most of the memories."